


Broken Walls

by lighthousesoffalsechoices



Category: Good Luck Charlie
Genre: Anorexia, Bulimia, Bullying, Eating Disorders, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-02 03:27:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8649751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lighthousesoffalsechoices/pseuds/lighthousesoffalsechoices
Summary: Gabriel Duncan has always been a very confident boy, but when people start mocking him for his weight. Will that confidence remain or will it be shattered?





	1. Seed Of Self-Doubt

"Okay guys, listen up. I need someone to babysit Toby today" Announced Amy as she placed some pancakes on her kids's plates "And I won't take no for an answer"

"Well, I can't today" Replied PJ "Emmett and I will go to a concert. I've already got the tickets" 

"So you have money to get some concert tickets but not to have breakfast at your own apartment" Said Bob with a raised eyebrow.

"Exactly" Said his eldest son. Bob sighed in return. But he wouldn't really complain. Even though he wasn't as vocal about it as Amy, he loved having all his kids around together for breakfast.

"Teddy?" Asked Amy as she sat down beside her husband ans started eating her food.

"Sorry mom, but I'm going to Ivy's house to study. You know we have some finals coming up and I need to get perfect grades for college" Teddy said before filling her mouth with a bit of pancakes with syrup.

"Well, it will have to be you Gabe" Amy concluded as she stared at her son.

"But mom! I...I-I also need to study!"

"Oh, please. You don't study. You are fourteen years late for that excuse" Amy mocked him as she kept on eating. Gabe huffed but nodded.

"Okay, I'll take care of him. But can you really trust me with Toby?" Gabe tried to make his way out of it, but deep down he knew he wouldn't win.

"That's why I'm going to ask Mrs. Dabney to keep an eye on you two" She replied with an evil smirk, or at least, that's what it looked like to Gabe. 

"Mrs. Dabney?! Mom, please I'm fourteen I can take care of my own baby brother. I don't need a babysitter" The boy complained.

"Oh, you don't? That's not what you said just a minute ago. You are babysitting him and Mrs, Dabney is going to babysit you and that's the end of our discussion" Gabe sighed heavily.

"Okay, but I can't assure you the house will be clean when you get home" Gabe grinned. His mother smiled right back at him.

"Well, then I don't know whether you are getting a new videogame for your birthday or not" Gabe gasped.

"A new videogame?! Wait...It's violent, right?"

"That depends on how clean the house is"

"Wait, a new videogame? We nev-" 

"Shut up, Bob" Ordered Amy.

"Wait mom, why do you need a babysitter? I thought dad had the day off today" Teddy asked while finishing the last of her breakfast.

"I did" Bob whispered.

"But now he doesn't. He will come to me to my club meeting with the girls. We are going to be having dinner at a restaurant and since they want to meet Charlie I'm taking her with me. So we will be back home a bit late. Do you think you can manage?" The woman asked her favorite troublemaker. She knew she was a bit severe sometimes, but he was still fourteen, a child himself. 

"It's okay, mom. I can do it" Gabe reassured her, he would try to behave the best he could. He would be just chatting with friends anyways so he could take care of his brother.

"Okay then" And with that the conversation ended. 

Their morning continued like that, a few minor arguments would make their way into their family breakfast but everything was solved rather quickly. The only thing that no one knew about but it stayed in Gabe's mind was a text he got from his friend-enemy Jo.

Now, their mother usually didn't want them to use their phone at the table no matter what meal they were having, but it was just a text and Amy had to go change Toby's clothes because he had spilled some juice on his new shirt.

"Hey fatass I can't chat today mom wants me to go take care of my grandma" 

Gabe frowned at this, not because Jo wouldn't be able to chat that day, but because no one, not even Jo, had ever called him that way. He had never really paid any kind of attention to his weight. He had always thought that he was normal, but apparently he wasn't. He turned his head to look at PJ. PJ was skinny. He then looked at himself for a second, thinking about the differences between his body and his brother's. He had wider shoulders, and now that he thought about it, he did have more fat in his face and body in general than his brother. He was also shorter. Maybe that was the problem, he was just short and once he finished growing he would lose all the extra weight.

Right?

Whatever, it was just Jo being Jo. 

"Gabe? Everything okay, son?" Bob asked his child, interrupting his train of thoughts. The boy looked up at his father and shook his head up and down.

"Yup. I'm fine, dad" He replied before grabbing his phone once again to text his friend. Bob kept his gaze fixed on his child for some seconds, but then he stood up and started grabbing the empty plates from the table. But once he reached Gabe's, he realized that his boy hadn't finished eating his pancakes. He frowned at this, Gabe never left any food unless he wasn't feeling well.

"You didn't finish your breakfast" Gabe turned his head to look at the plate his dad was holding and simply shrugged.

"I'm not hungry" He replied before focusing once again on his phone. 

"If you are not hungry then...Can I have the rest of your pancakes?" Asked PJ eyeing the sweet food from his chair. 

"Go for it" Muttered Gabe without looking at his brother. PJ quickly took the food from his father's hands and started eating what was left of it. 

Bob sighed. There were days he didn't know how to deal with his kids. 

That afternoon after both PJ and Teddy had left to do what they had planned for the day, Gabe was watching some TV in the living-room, also watching his parents as they were preparing to leave.

"Bob!" Amy called from upstairs "Don't even think of taking that bug's tie with you today!" She warned just as his father was entering the living-room. Gabe smirked and watched as his father started taking it off.

"W-What are you saying, Amy? Of course I wouldn't take it to your club meeting!" He exclaimed as he threw the tie to his son, who quickly hid it under one of the couch's pillows. Some seconds later, Amy walked down the stairs holding Toby in one arm while holding a red tie in the other.

"Gabe put that tie to wash after we are gone" The woman instructed her child as he placed her youngest son on the couch next to his brother. She frowned "Gabe, where's Charlie?" She asked.

"I don't know" Gabe replied as he stared at the TV screen.

"Gabe! How can you not know?! How do you expect me to trust in you if you los-"

"Surprise!" Charlie exclaimed as she suddenly appeared from under the coffee table. Gabe chuckled.

"Well done, Charlie!" He exclaimed as he high fived his baby sister before taking her in his arms and giving her to his mother "What were you saying?" He asked his mother with a playful smile dancing on his lips. Amy arched an eyebrow and took her daughter in her arms.

"So funny" She said in pure sarcasm. Bob sighed as he finished putting on his last piece of cloth.

"Although I would love to see you arguing with Gabe all day, because that would give me some lazy time, we have to leave"

"Okay, let's go" Amy said as she and her husband put on their coats and she grabbed her purse "Gabe, make sure to give him some fruit in a bit and then give him his dinner. Both of your dinners are in the oven, you just need to heat them up a bit. His is in his green plate and yours is in a normal one. You have all the emergency numbers on the fridge and-"

"Mom, we'll be okay" Gabe interrupted her as he softly placed a hand on Toby's head. Toby didn't seem to mind since he was too busy playing with a stuffed dolphin.

"You can trust them, honey" Bob wrapped one arm around Amy, leading her and his daughter to the door "We can call them later if yoou want us to" Amy nodded and after saying their goodbyes, they finally left.

Gabe turned to look at his one year old brother and smiled "Well Toby, it seems we'll be both alone for some time" He told his baby who simply stared at him and laughed, which made his older brother chuckle "Well at least one of us is happy" He then took his laptop and opened it before entering the chat room he had with his friends from school. 

As he was waiting for them to come online, his mind went back to what had happened that morning. 

"Hey fatass I can't chat today mom wants me to go take care of my grandma" 

"Hey fatass I can't chat today mom..."

"Hey fatass I can't chat...."

"Hey fatass"

He sighed and shook his head, as if moving it would take that text from his mind. Luckily, some of his friends had come online, so he wouldn't have to think about anything. Unfortunately, after just an hour someone knocked on the door, which made him sigh and leave his laptop on the coffee table, standing up to see who was bothering him.

Of course it would be Mrs. Dabney.

"Oh, Mrs. Dabney what an unpleasant surprise! What do I owe this torture that is your presence?" He asked with a poker face, the woman stared at him, chuckled mockingly and then let herself in the house. 

"Your mother asked me to keep an eye on you, and since well you are you, I will have to come every hour" She stood next to Toby, who was playing on the carpet, and stared at him "I see Gabe number two is doing well" She commented.

"Mom is just too dramatic. And as you can see, he is perfectly fine. So can you leave now so I can continue training him in the fine art of pranking?" He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes.

"I'll leave, but I will be back when you least expect it"

"That means when you remember to come?"

"Exactly"

The hours that went by until dinner time were pretty calm and funny. At one point he stopped to give his brother some sliced up fruit and then he stopped some other times to change him. Once it was time for dinner, he closed his laptop and took his baby brother in his arms, taking him to the kitchen. He sat Toby on his special chair and went to the oven to fetch the baby's food. 

Once he opened it, his hand instantly went over to the green plate, not really noticing the other one. He knew it was there, but for some reason he just didn't take it. But he didn't think much of it.

He heat the food just a bit and then started feeding Toby. Right when he had finished feeding him, the phone started ringing so he quickly went to get it from the living-room and then went back to the kitchen, to make sure that his brother wouldn't make any mess.

"Hello?" He answered as he cleaned Toby's mouth with a disgusted expression on his face. He didn't know how his brother could eat that mushy stuff and enjoy it "Oh, hey mom....Yes, he just finished eating....Yes, he is okay....No, the house is not on fire. Mom you need to trust me more" He snorted at his own words "No, you don't, today it's just a good day for you"

"Remember your birthday present, Gabe" Amy sang through the phone. He could hear her smile just in her voice. It made him roll his eyes.

"Okay mom"

"Did you eat?"

Did he? No...He didn't. Wasn't he supposed to eat with Toby? Didn't he have his own dinner in the oven?

He quickly went to check, and there it was. It was a piece of beef with some vegetables. It looked simple but, for some reason, it seemed like a bit too much.

"Gabe? Are you there, honey?"

"Uhm, yeah mom I'm here. I just couldn't hear you for a second. I...I did eat. I ate with Toby" He took the plate in his hand and walked over to the trash can, throwing the food that was in there.

"Fatass"

"So when will you be back?...Half an hour?...Okay, then. We'll be waiting. Bye mom" He then hung up the phone and looked at the trash can. 

Why had he done that? He wasn't too sure, but luckily his brother started crying so he didn't have time to think about it. He just left both plates in the sink and took Toby in his arms, trying to calm him down. 

Some hours later, and after Teddy had come back home and PJ had assured Amy that he had made it safely to his apartment, both parents were alone in the kitchen, cleaning up some mess Gabe and Toby had left behind.

"Well, would you look at that? Gabe proved that he can be responsible" She said excitedly, but after looking into her husbands eyes she shrugged "Yeah, we were lucky. He will go back to being a troublemaker tomorrow" Both chuckled at this "Hey Bob, do you mind taking out the trash? I'm going to put Toby and Chalie to bed" 

"Sure, afterwards I'll go help you" He really didn't want to do anything, but he knew he had too, or else, he would sleep on the couch and since he was a rather big guy, the couch was just too uncomfortable. Once she left the kitchen, he walked over to the trash can and took the trash out of it "It's a bit heavy tonight" He muttered to himself, and just out of curiosity he opened the bag.

Was that meat and vegetables? Wasn't that what Amy had left for Gabe to eat?

He frowned at this "But he said he ate..." He wondered out loud. After some seconds he simply closed the bag and took it out. He would talk to his son after putting his youngest children to bed. 

While taking care of Charlie and Toby and even while watching a football game before going to bed, he couldn't take his mind off of Gabe. Now, his kids and pretty much everyone knew that when it came to being a father he wasn't the smartest one around, and his kids outsmarted him all the time. But just as Amy was Mama Bear, Bob considered himself Papa Bear. He always seemed to know whether any of his kids was not doing okay, or when there was something wrong going on.

And Gabe was giving him those vibes. 

But whatever thoughts he was having about he decided to discard them. Gabe was surely okay, he was a smart kid. He would just keep an eye on him the next day. Maybe his son only had an upset stomach. 

Upstairs, in what used to be both PJ's and Gabe's bedroom, the fourteen year old boy was getting ready for bed as he always did. He put on his grey t-shirt and some black sweatpants. He was about to get under the covers when his stomach growled from anger. He frowned, and realized that he hadn't eaten anything since lunch. Had he really skipped dinner? 

Yes, he had.

He shook his head and decided to just go to sleep, he would have a big breakfast the next day. But as he was getting under the covers he caught the mirror from the corner of his eye. He turned his head to look at it and after thinking for a bit, he stood up and took his shirt of, fixing his gaze on the mirror.

He was fat. How hadn't he noticed this before? He placed both hands on his tummy, and then grabbed the skin around his body. He was just so...big. He then started thinking about all the times he had eaten fattening food like chips, chocolate or cookies. He then thought about his brother. Tall, skinny, perfect. And then about his father, who had managed to lose weight and was also tall but more muscular. He bit his lower and decided to lose some weight. But how could he do that? He did go to baseball practice and was still fat. 

Maybe he just had to stop eating. 

"Just for a while" He whispered to himself as he put his shirt on and then finally got under the covers.


	2. Odd One Out

The next morning was rather hectic given that it was Monday. It was hard to notice if everyone had eaten, specially considering just how much of a mess everyone, with the exception of Amy and Teddy, had made a complete mess out of their meals. 

Once Gabe and Teddy had gone to school, Amy took Charlie to help her get ready to leave. 

"Bob, clean this mess up and change Toby while I get Charlie ready and drive her to kindergarten" 

"Yes, yes" Amy gave him a look and Bob smiled "Yes, honey" 

She then smiled as well and left. 

Bob sighed and looked at his baby boy "Well, it looks like it's just you and me for some hours" Toby giggled as he messy clapped his hands "I'm happy too"

After ruffling his child's hair, he went to pick up the plates from the table. It seemed like he always did this lately. Not that he cared that much, sure, he would prefer to lie on the couch and eat some chips, but he didn't mind helping around. Specially since he knew how much trouble it was dealing with that many children. 

Once he got to Gabe's plate though, he noticed the food almost completely untouched. He stopped and simply stared at the food. 

Gabe wasn't eating well. 

Toby whimpering as if he was about to cry and that quickly stopped his train of thoughts, he put the plate away and got Toby from his high chair. 

"I know, I know" He sighed as he bounced the boy against his body, trying to calm him down "I don't like this either"

Gabe was really glad that he had managed to escape before anyone got to see his plate, or else he would have had to explain exactly why he hadn't eaten. He understood that it would be hard for his family to get why he wouldn't be eating for a bit, until he was as fit as the guys he saw on those magazines. Until he was not the bigger one in his group of friends anymore. 

His stomach kept on grumbling from hunger and it even started hurting sometime during school. But he got himself water to fill his tummy up, to keep it from complaining and hurting and to feel fill so he would avoid losing his will. 

School had been normal that day, classes were as boring as ever and teachers kept a close eye on him, even if pranks were the last thing in his mind. In only some moments food had become his whole world. The only think he would think about. And that made him feel slightly anxious, like he had never felt before. He wasn't one for anxiety, not like PJ could sometimes get. It was strange, unsettling, but he knew that it wouldn't last. Once he went back to eating he would stop feeling so uncomfortable, but that wouldn't happen until he had lost weight. 

Lunch time came, and Gabe knew that it wouldn't be easy. 

When he entered the room he instantly noticed his friends already sitting at their usual table. They waved at him and he nodded before walking over to a vending machine to get another bottle of water, and he then walked over to the others. 

"Hey guys" He greeted once he sat down next to Jo. Brad frowned.

"Aren't you eating anything, dude?"

"Ah, no. I had this big breakfast this morning so, now I'm feeling really stuffed" His friend seemed happy with his answer but Jo kept on looking at him as she ate her rice. 

"I can give you my salad, mom actually put a lot of it" She offered as she roughly placed the bowl in front of him "I hate salad"

"Uhm" Gabe eyed the food and suddenly felt really nervous. His hands started shaking slightly and his throat felt as if it was closing up. It was just vegetables with some tuna. That could hardly make him fatter. Right? "I don't wanna take it from you..."

"Please" She chuckled "You would never be able to take anything from me. I am offering it"

He rolled his eyes and then gulped as he looked down at the food again. Everyone on the table was looking at him, starting to get worried about the way he was acting. It was uncomfortable, it was unwelcome, so the teenager finally grabbed the fork and started eating. As soon as he did, his friends went back to their conversation. 

And Gabe felt like throwing up. 

His stomach was grateful, it was finally getting something to feed from, but he was feeling, wrong, as if he wasn't supposed to be eating, as if the food was instantly making him fatter. 

Finishing was difficult, but once he did he stuffed himself full of water and did his best to distract his mind. 

The rest of the day went by uneventful. He had homework, but he would bullshit his way out of it as he always did.

"I'm home!" He exclaimed once he entered the front door. He was greeted by the sight of Toby playing while Teddy talked over the phone. He waved at his baby brother before quickly making his way upstairs. He tightly closed the door, actually feeling gratefult of the fact that PJ wasn't living there anymore, and instantly went over to the mirror and took his shirt off. His stomach was...it was enourmous. Was it even bigger than before? Gosh...

He shouldn't have eaten that. He should have been stronger, he should have been able to say no instead of letting his stomach do the talking. How could he control this situation if he couldn't even control his own fat instincts? How could he even dream of losing weight if he was already failing? 

He was slowly hyperventilating, so he simply sat on the bed. He felt...alone. He felt as if no one would be able to understand the thoughts running through his mind. No one would get why he wanted to cut his own stomach off, to work on himself as if an artist would a painting, to correct his imperfections, to cut off himself the excessive fat and create the perfect version of himself that he wanted to be. 

Gabe's eyes filled up with tears and he didn't even get why. He didn't understand why he would cry, there was no need to. He could... He could do better. No more food from now on, he wouldn't let himself fall into the same trap again. He could do this, he was in control. He dried his tears with his own arm and then put his shirt back on. When he finished, he noticed a poster that he had on the wall. It was of a superhero he admired a lot. 

The superhero was lean. He was fit, not even an ounce of fat could be found in his body. It didn't have it, it didn't need it. 

He knew that heroes were not real, but he also knew that fit bodies were. Those were not an invention, anyone could achieve them if they had the will. Right?

Once he had calmed down enough, with a renewed will, he made his way down the stairs. His dad was sitting on the couch, eating some cookies with Charlie. His mom was doing some laundry with Toby playing behind her and Teddy was nowhere to be seen. He walked over to his father and let his body fall on the couch beside him. He was tired. 

"Hey, buddy. Teddy told me you went straight to your room after school today" He said as he offered his boy a cookie, but he just shook his head.

"Yeah, I did. I was...I spilled some juice on my shirt so I had to get changed" Bob frowned, but didn't say much about the topic. 

"Okay. Your brother is coming home today to make dinner"

"Dad, when is he not home?" He smirked and his father chuckled. 

"Well, I'm not complaining, that boy can cook"

Yes, PJ could definitely cook. What he lacked in brains he made up in talent...and a kind heart, but there was no way Gabe would ever admit it. He absolutely loved eating his brother's food, it was always delicious and spicy enough to be exotic. He knew how to cook almost everything and the presentation of each dish was on point. 

But that had to end. He would have to say no to his big brother's amazing cooking. But it was just temporarly. 

"I, uh... You know, dad? I'm not feeling so good"

"Why?" His eyes quickly turned to look at his boy before he placed a big hand on his forehead to try and see if he had a fever. 

"I...I've had an upset stomach for a bit and I really don't feel like eating"

His father took off his hand and placed it on Gabe's knee. He remained quiet for some moments as his mind went back to the unfinished meals and the food thrown into the trash. He felt relieved to know that it was merely an upset stomach that would go away in just a couple of days. But he was...uncertain. For some reason that he couldn't decipher. 

"Is that why you haven't been finishing your meals?"

"Yeah"

"And why you lied to your mom saying you ate the other night yet you didn't?" Gabe opened his eyes slightly but he quickly hid his surprise. 

"Dad, I was feeling a bit sick and I didn't wanna worry mom. You know how she can get" Bob nodded his head and sighed. 

"But then why did you throw it away?"

"To keep up the lie. Dad, really, it's like you don't know me"

Bob looked at his son for some seconds before sighing again.

"Okay, I believe you. But next time don't throw your mother's food away. If she saw that she would get upset"

"Mad, rather" Both sighed.

"I won't tell your mom about it. But you still have to eat something and you have to tell me if you are not feeling well"

"I ate!" He quickly replied and Bob arched an eyebrow "Jo gave me some of her food today since she didn't like it"

His dad seemed happy enough to know that he had eaten and so he let the topic go. 

A couple of days went by like that. The teenager kept on filling his stomach with water and did the best he could to stay away from any kind of food. He had learned a perfect way to distract his family, to make them believe that he had finished his meals when he was actually throwing it away. He would chew his food slowly and then spit it out into a napkin when nobody was looking. Having food in his mouth felt digusting, but he didn't let anything get further inside and he couldn't feel happier. He felt lighter, he felt like he could actually do this, like he actually had everything under control. He failed to noticed the way his skin was getting paler or the way he was growing tired, exhausted. His body was beginning to feel weaker, but his stomach was empty, and that was all that truly mattered to him. 

He got on the scale and noticed how he was actually starting to get closer to the numbers he wanted to be at. But the mirror was a completely different story. It showed him the exact same image that he had seen when he started it all. And it filled his heart with disappointment every time he would look at it. 

Why wasn't he getting thinner? Why wasn't his body changing? Did he not deserve to be skinny? Did he not deserve to be happy? 

He was always the odd one out. He was the black sheep, the brown haired boy within a family of blond haired people. And now that his dad had lost all the extra weight, he was the fat one of the family. 

Always the odd one out.

One day, it had finally happened, the day when his body actually gave up on him, if not for a little bit, the day it sent him the signals indicating that maybe he was going too far. 

He was over to the living-room after getting himself a glass of water from it. His big brother had been just entering the house, still in his work uniform, and his mom was at the hospital. Teddy was studying over at Ivy's house and his little siblings were napping. 

Gabe started feeling dizzy as he took the first steps into the room.

"Hey, baby bro" PJ greeted as he entered "The power is out at the apartment so I thought I'd crash here" He smiled as he left his strange hat on a nearby table. He frowned as he noticed just how pale Gabe was. He was...thinner too. It had just been some days since he hadn't been over at his parents house. How could his brother change so much? "Are you okay, dude?"

"Yeah...I'm fine" He replied slowly as he smirked, trying to keep up an act, to make it seem like the world wasn't spinning around him. His eyes were unfocused and the hand holding the glass was shaking, but PJ didn't notice that. He simply shrugged and walked over to the stairs. 

Gabe's breathing was labored and after some seconds he actully dropped the glass. PJ quickly turned around, but all he saw was his brother's falling hard to the ground as he fainted. 

"GABE!" He quickly made his way downstairs and knelt beside the other, slapping his cheek softly, trying to get him to wake up "Gabe! Come on! DAD!" He yelled "MOM! ANYONE!"

Bob had been out in the back yard, tending to the flowers that Amy had planted not long ago, he was making sure, after being kindly asked of his wife, that there were no bugs on them. Even if he was just saving some flowers, he couldn't help but feel proud. He was an amazing exterminator! Why couldn't his children see it?!

"DAD! MOM! ANYONE!" 

He quickly threw his working tools to the ground "PJ?!" He then stood up and ran inside the house as fast as he could. With so many children, raised voices and shouts were normal, if one of the girls wasn't screaming then it was one of the boys, it was a rule by now. But Bob had learned to recognize when it was just playful yelling, when it was angry yelling, and when it was laced with fear and need. 

Once he arrived at the living-room, he saw his oldest son kneeling, almost laying on the ground as he tried to wake his brother up, who was out cold, his body surrounded by shattered glass and a pool of water. 

"Gabe!" He exclaimed as he knelt right beside his favorite trouble maker "PJ, what happened?!"

"I don't know! He was like super pale but he said he was fine and then the second I turn around he fainted!"

Just as Bob was about to say something, they both heard a groan and noticed that Gabriel was frowning in pain as he tried to open his eyes.

"Gabe? Can you hear me, son?" 

His child only continued groaning as he opened his eyes. Bob quickly took him in his arms and gently carried him over to the couch before softly laying him there. His boy was lighter than before. 

"S-Should we call mom?" PJ wondered as he now knelt beside the couch to get a better look at his baby brother.

"Let me see what's wrong first" Bob placed a protective hand on his boy's forehead and quickly dismissed a high fever "Son, I need you to speak to me"

"I...I c-can hear you, dad" The response was weak as a pair of unfocused eyes stared at him "What happened?..."

"You fainted, buddy" PJ replied "You were flat out cold"

Gabe moaned in pain as he placed a hand at the back of his head.

"You must have hit it when you fell" Bob assumed "PJ go call your mother and ask her what to do. I'll stay with your brother" The blonde boy quickly nodded his head before standing back up and running to the kitchen to get the phone "Gabe, do you remember what you were doing?"

"I was getting water" His voice was weak, tired and sounded like he was in pain, it was like a stab to Bob's heart.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I just fainted" He teased and Bob sighed. 

Moments later PJ came into the room, saying that Amy had demand Bob to bring Gabe at the hospital she was working at, so she could herself have a look at him. Or at least, have someone she trusted do so. 

And so he did. He gently lifted his boy in his arms again, no matter how much he would complain, saying that he was feeling good enough to walk on his own, and put him in the truck. PJ insisted on going, but Bob asked him to stay home to watch the children. And so he drove Gabe to the hospital, promising his first born to call him as soon as he knew anything. 

He kept on looking at his boy through the rear mirror, and although he seemed to slowly be feeling better, more active and responsive, his eyes focused once again, he still looked deadly pale and there were bags under his eyes. 

Just what was going on with his son?


End file.
